ROCK PAPER INCISORS

Old friends return with new wards in this beloved series.

What do a skunk and a badger know about raising baby rats? Surprisingly little. In this third installment in the Skunk and Badger series—following Egg Marks the Spot (2021)—events have led the titular roommates to welcome the young rats Zephyr and Zeno into their home this winter. At first all goes swimmingly, with Badger convinced that he has time to write his first article for Rock Hound Weekly. Unfortunately, soon the rats are constructing zip lines, barrel racing, and launching unexpected—and unasked-for—scavenger hunts while their exhausted guardians clean up. As Badger stresses over his article, Skunk calls in reinforcements in the form of his chicken friends. But when Badger accidentally hibernates at just the wrong moment, is disaster inevitable? Readers enchanted by previous installments will have no difficulty following the duo’s further adventures, though newcomers would be wise to start at the series’ beginning. Badger’s focus on his rock work feels particularly adult at times, yet Timberlake’s descriptions of his obsessions often result in lovely prose (“The land is a book written by a glacier”). Distractions aside, the beating heart of the series remains the friendship between seemingly gruff Badger and sunny Skunk. Capturing snowfall and cozy scenes indoors, Klassen’s accompanying art imbues the storytelling with both a classic feel and an understated wit.

Like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day.